One of the best things we did on our trip to Cambodia was to rent a motorbike and drive to the top of the mountain at Bokor National Park – the home of an old abandoned hill station.
It was so surreal to leave humid Kampot behind and drive up into the cold clouds of the park. We actually felt cold for the first time ever in Southeast Asia.
What awaited us on the top was a bizarre ghost town formerly known as Bokor Hill Station. We saw old ruins, empty roads, and green landscapes immersed in thin misty clouds. What an experience!
So in this travel guide, we’ll share everything you need to know to do your own tour in Bokor National Park.
You’ll learn about how to get there by yourself on a motorbike or on a tour, where to stay in Bokor national park, the history of the national park, and all the top attractions on the mountain. Hopefully, when you’re done reading this, you’re ready for your own adventure.
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How to visit Bokor National Park
There are a few things to consider for those going to explore Bokor National Park. So this section is going to prepare you as much as possible for an amazing day in the clouds.
Bokor National Park by motorbike
The road to Bokor National Park is very curvy, so for people who’ve never driven a motorbike before, it can be a bit dangerous. Our advice is, just take it slow, and drive at a pace that makes you feel safe. You don’t have to race around the corners like a lot of people do.
Apart from that, the road is probably one of the best maintained roads you’ll find in all of Cambodia. It is so well paved! So even though it’s curvy, it isn’t dangerous at all, because the road is in such a great condition.
I didn’t ride a motorbike for years, and yet I found the courage to give it a go. I forgot how fun it was, and I almost wouldn’t let Glenn ride afterwards.
We rented our motorbike from our hostel and were told that we would need all the gas in the tank. It’s a long way up to the top and there is no gas station on Bokor mountain.
We were a little nervous since we would be 2 people on a small motorbike, hence it would be heavier and use more gas than normally. However, we didn’t have any problems with running out of gas.
We got the motorbike with a full tank and went straight to the mountain. If you want to fill up on the way, there is also a gas station on the way to Bokor national park. All in all, we had enough gas for a full day of exploring!
Bokor National Park by guided tour
If you’re not comfortable riding a motorbike yourself or if you prefer to have the insider knowledge from a guide, then you can easily book a guided tour from Kampot.
On this Day Tour from Kampot to Bokor National Park a guide will take you to Bokor Mountain in his tuk tuk. You will see the Lok Yeay Mao Monument, the Popokvil Waterfall, the Catholic Church, several viewpoints, and even a few places we never saw ourselves – like the Nepenthes flower fields.
You only have to set aside half a day for this tour, and it has excellent reviews on Viator. All in all it looks good, which is why we’re comfortable recommending it here in case you don’t feel like riding a motorbike yourself.
Where to stay in Bokor National Park
You only have 1 option if you want to stay in Bokor National Park, and that is to stay at the old casino, which has been converted into a hotel today named Le Bokor Palace. The hotel is beautifully situated at the very top of the mountain and has a phenomenal viewpoint.
However, there are a bit mixed reviews, some say it’s great and other say it reminds them of the movie, “The Shining”.
So it’s up to you whether you want to try your luck and stay a night in the hotel at Bokor National Park. If it’s anywhere near true that it has “The Shining” vibes, then I’d definitely pass considering I hate horror movies.
Bokor National Park entrance fee
So we’ve heard about people who paid an entrance fee at Bokor National Park and about people who didn’t.
We didn’t pay anything to enter Bokor National Park.
The entry to Bokor National Park is at the foot of the mountain, and you will see a little hut marking the spot. So it’s very obvious when you drive by the entrance to the park.
We drove slowly by, indicating whether to stop and pay, but the man just waved us through. Others have told that they’ve been stopped and had to pay an entrance fee for entering Bokor National Park.
No matter what, the fee will never be more than a dollar or two. So, you shouldn’t worry too much about it. Just have some small bills on you in case you have to pay.
The history of Bokor Hill Station
Bokor National Park is a mountain full of wildlife and green landscapes. On clear days, it’s said that you can see all the way to Vietnam!
But the biggest attraction in Bokor is the historical hill station, which you will find on the top of the mountain. The Hill Station was a settlement built by the french colonials in 1921. So most of the old and abandoned ruins you see at the top are from this period.
They even build a Catholic church in 1928, which is a rare sight in Southeast Asia since the majority of the people living here are Buddhists.
The colonials went to Bokor Mountain to escape the Southeast Asian heat and humidity of Phnom Penh.
Later on, in the 1950s and 1960s, King Sihanouk used to visit Bokor National Park. He had a summer residence here called the Black Palace.
Today, this palace is an abandoned ruin and it’s full of a lot of graffiti art – but more about this later.
Fast forward to 1972, the Bokor Hill Station was abandoned because Cambodia was thrown into a civil war and a horrible mass genocide. As a result, Khmer Rouge took control of the national park and it became one of the last strongholds of Khmer Rouge before their defeat.
Today, everyone can go on a tour to Bokor national park. It’s both a tourist attraction and a holiday retreat. However, it also has quite a dark past, which combined with the cold weather and roaming clouds, creates a spooky atmosphere. It’s a great place for dark tourism, we’d say.
Things to see in Bokor National Park
There are so many interesting things to see and do in Bokor National Park. In this section, we’ll dive into some of the attractions you just can’t miss.
In our opinion, half a day of exploration is enough if you just want to see the highlights. So, here are all the things we saw on our one day tour to Bokor National Park.
1. Lok Yeay Mao statue
Before reaching Bokor Hill Station, probably about halfway up the mountain, you will drive by a massive Buddhist statue.
This is Lok Yeay Mao, a protector goddess, known for keeping peace and calm in the forest and coastal provinces of Cambodia. You will not miss her when you drive by. She is big!
You can park your motorbike here and go have a look at Lok Yeay Mao. If you’re lucky to visit on a non-cloudy day, you should also have a great view from here. Or so we’ve heard. It was pretty cloudy during the day of our visit.
2. The Black Palace
On the opposite road of Lok Yeay Mao, you will see an old abandoned building.
This is the Black Palace.
Make sure to go here and explore the abandoned ruins from the former King’s summer residence. This is also where you will find some spooky graffiti art. Pretty cool right?!
Both Lok Yeay Mao and the Black Palace are definitely worth a stop. And at this point it’s also nice to have a break from the motorbike and the curvy road leading upwards. So enjoy a break here and go explore a bit.
3. Bokor Hill Station
You know you reached the top of Bokor mountain when the road starts to become flat. This is where you’ll find Bokor Hill Station.
In our experience, it felt very bizarre driving around in Bokor Hill Station. It almost feels like a ghost town in a movie. In fact, several horror movies have been filmed in Bokor National Park because of its spooky feel.
It’s super surreal when you drive by several ruins and then all of a sudden, you see the newly renovated Le Bokor Palace, which used to be an old casino. It looks super misplaced, yet it fits perfectly into the horror scene of Bokor.
If you have the guts, then why not spend some money and stay a night at this hotel? You won’t find us there, cause I’m just too much of a chicken to spend a night in what really feels like a haunted place.
At some point you will reach the catholic church, and you should definitely do a stop here.
It’s an old mossy ruin, and it fits perfect in the landscape of Bokor Mountain. Just behind the church, you can also find a great viewpoint!
There are actually several great viewpoints in Bokor National park. So we suggest that you get the app Maps.me and download the map of Bokor’s area. That way you can easily find your way around the hill station and spot all the great viewpoints.
4. Popokvil Waterfall
We ended our day at the Popokvil Waterfall.
This is the only place we went to in Bokor National Park where we had to pay an entrance fee. This was also the only stop where there was actually more than 10 people around us.
The entrance fee to Popokvil Waterfall is $1 per person and with that we also got a free bottle of water and free use of the toilets.
The waterfall is definitely worth a stop. It was so nice to have a rest from the motorbike while listening to the sound of Popokvil Waterfall. What is it that’s so awesome about the sound of falling water?
At Popokvil, you will also find the only café on Bokor Mountain. So you can eat a late lunch here before returning down the curvy roads of the mountain.
Last comments on Bokor National Park
While driving around the old Hill Station, we saw a lot of big apartment-looking blocks being build. We don’t know what has been invested there, but it looks like there is definitely going to be some changes in the future.
Maybe in a few years it will be a big tourist destination? We honestly don’t know, but it was odd to see big buildings rise in the middle of nowhere.
Bokor Mountain definitely has great potential as a holiday retreat because of its cool weather. We just hope that whatever is being build will not ruin the spooky and mysterious feel of this amazing place in Cambodia.
One thing is for sure. If you find yourself in Cambodia, do yourself a favor and go to Kampot, rent a motorbike, and go on a tour to Bokor National Park. Again if that’s not your thing, then just book a guided tour from Kampot.
You will definitely have a lot of fun at this bizarre old hill station on top of a mountain. We’ve honestly never seen a place like this before in Southeast Asia.
It’s the perfect place for the adventurous kind of traveller, who’s seeking a bit of a thrill. Any dark tourist would love Bokor as well – It’s not a coincidence that horror movies were made here!
We hope you enjoyed this travel guide about our motorbike tour into Bokor National Park, and that you found it useful in the planning of your own trip to Bokor.
If you have any questions, then please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below.
Thanks for reading and happy travels!
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Such a stunning landscape! I confess though I’ve never been on a scooter before!
Haha its a lot of fun and not very difficult! It was very beautiful up there.
I love traveling to National Parks! Thanks for the informative article and I also loved learning more about the history of this park.
Me too! Well if you’re ever in Cambodia, this one is great 🙂